Kawerau cancer sufferer Victor Richmond gets bone marrow from brother

Victor and Hori Richmond. Photo / Supplied

There's no better gift to give than a chance at life.

But for Kawerau's Hori Richmond, learning he was a bone marrow match for his younger brother Victor was an honour.

Seven siblings meant the younger Richmond brother had more of a chance than most to find a bone marrow match after his trifecta diagnosis of myelodysplasia, aplastic anaemia and paroxysmal-nocturnal-haemoglobinuria.

A blurry eye one July morning this year resulted in Victor's fiancee insisting he visit the doctor. Had she not, the doctor later told family, she would have woken to a corpse within weeks.

A bone marrow transplant was Victor's only chance at life. But even with such a large family, there was no certainty a match would be made.

"As soon as the bro got told he was sick, we [all seven siblings] got tested," Hori said.

"We had to wait two weeks to find out if one of us could help him and all along I hoped it would be me."

Hori said everyone received an email on the same day informing them of the test results but, because he was at work, he was the last to find out.

"Everyone had been ringing round to see and I found out after work it was me. I was stoked."

Victor and Hori Richmond. Photo / Supplied

One of the Richmond sisters was a partial match but Hori was pleased he was the one who would be going into surgery on October 11.

"I'm also pretty stoked that it's Hori," Victor said.

"Even if he is giving me a bit of brotherly stick about being a lifesaver.

"But I am also aware that if I had not had such a big whānau, finding that match would have been a lot harder.

"And that is the reason I urge people to get tested and get on the bone marrow donor list. So many people don't get as lucky with a match and that's a tragedy."

About a week prior to receiving his brother's marrow, Victor will undergo chemotherapy designed to "wipe out whatever is in there", leaving a clean slate for the new marrow.

"I'm pretty good right now," Victor said. "The energy levels aren't where they were but that's probably expected. But I'm mentally preparing for what's to come."

He described being "wrapped in continuous love" by family and friends since July as overwhelming and the money raised on a Givealittle page as humbling.

Both brothers agreed it was only until things like this happened close to home that you realised the importance of donating to a good cause.

"Victor has taught us so much in the past couple of months," Hori said. "We're all up here [Kawerau] stressing and he's down there [Wellington] in hospital keeping us positive and reassuring us every day."